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With day trips, Zumba, workshops, arts & crafts, we’ve got a busy summer ahead at our Carers’ Drop In Sessions. Take a look at our Carers Drop In Summer Programme and please let us know if you would like to attend.

We usually meet 3 weeks of every month, the first and third Tuesday sessions normally take place at Chorlton Central Church on Barlow Moor Road and we usually meet at the Red Lion Pub in Withington second Tuesday of the month. Please contact Sally or Vicky on 0161 226 7186 or email sally@togetherdementiasupport.org if you would like to come along to make sure that our plans haven’t changed.

Carers, you are welcome to bring your relative with you to the session. We have volunteers on hand who will sit and spend time with them (cards, crafts, dominoes) whilst you make the most of the session.

Thanks to everyone who took time to cast a vote for our Fab Forgetful Friends in the Big Lottery Fund People’s Projects competition. Thanks to you, our group has been awarded funding to provide safe transport for local people living with dementia and carers! We are so grateful to every one who voted and spread the word, and especially to the Big Lottery for supporting the work of Together Dementia Support.

We asked Sally Ferris (Together Dementia Support Director and Co-ordinator) to tell us about Together Dementia Support’s exciting journey and involvement with the People’s Projects competition.

“It all started in October 2017 when Together Dementia Support was invited to submit a proposal to the People’s Projects. What could we do with up to £50,00! The funding had to be spent in a year and couldn’t be used for salaries or other core costs.

We quickly thought that buying an accessible minibus would be a great capital item as transport to and from our groups is a major challenge and often prevents group members from attending. We have a few volunteer drivers but in the last year we have had to use taxis. This has not only been expensive but also not entirely safe as errors with destinations have been made and taxi drivers haven’t given the necessary support to our members with dementia. We have also found that we needed to supply a volunteer escort for some of our members as they might not be able to lock the front door or might leave the house with slippers on.

We also knew that we wanted to offer a dedicated group for our younger members who are living with dementia. They were requesting more trips out and opportunities to activities that would keep them fit, so we added on to the bid a sessional worker who would plan and lead monthly trips out in the minibus.

We learned, a month or so later, that we had been shortlisted for the Granada regional final. Sally attended media training as the 5 finalists would all have to make a film about their project. The encouragement and guidance about how to promote your work was invaluable and a month later an ITV producer and cameraman descended on our ‘Games for the Brain’ and choir sessions to film us. Our volunteers enabled extra members to attend this special filming day and we had a ball! The crew stayed with us all day and were able to film the choir session in the afternoon. It was a lovely surprise to discover that the cameraman was a Moss Side lad and he had a big hug with his auntie Beth who is one of our choir members.

After that we had to get ready for the competition launch. Vicky designed special voting cards and we had 5,000 printed as we knew this was our target for votes. We alerted everyone we knew to watch Granada Reports to see our film. And so the two week campaigning period began! We tweeted and posted and delivered voting cards to all the local community groups we know. Our network extended as families took cards to their workplaces, Bingo Halls, churches and colleges. One member’s neighbours were in active competition to secure the most votes!

Our communications volunteer, Katie, worked really hard, promoting the project on-line and using social media and we know that we got great support from the dementia network nationwide thanks to that.

Finally, May 3rd arrived and Sally received a phone call from the ITV film producer asking if he could come and interview her about something or other. She did wonder….! That morning a smartly dressed reporter arrived at Didsbury Park, where a group was being run. He suddenly revealed that he had come to present the ‘Winner” notice. Sally had to keep quiet, though, until the results were revealed on Granada Reports.

Sally and Vicky (our Dementia Service Manager) shared fizzy wine and strawberries and cream with one of the groups to celebrate the win. There was such real joy that our efforts had paid off, and also that people living with dementia had been recognised and had received public support. The members told Sally to get on the phone and order the bus. They are impatient to get out and use it!

The whole TDS team are SO grateful to the Big Lottery for making this big financial gesture of support, and to all the people who voted, and to those who encouraged others to vote. This minibus is going to make a wonderful difference to our work. Thank you!”

Together Dementia Support are delighted to be on the shortlist for the National Lottery’s People’s Projects funding competition!

How will the funding be used?
If we won funding, our group would use the funding to purchase an accessible minibus to enable people living with dementia to attend group activities and improve their quality of life. The minibus will mean that they will be able to attend their sessions, especially the gospel choir which sings regularly at community events. The minibus will also be used for trips to the countryside, leisure centres, art galleries and other places of their choosing.

How can I vote and support your project?Visit the People’s Projects website and submit your vote online. You will need to fill in your name, email address and postcode. Then you will receive an email with a voting link that you need to click on to confirm your vote. Please remember: In order for your vote to be counted, please follow the link in the email and remember to check your junk folder! Thank you.

When can I vote?Voting opens for all projects at 9am on Monday 16 April 2018 and closes at midday on Monday 30 April 2018.

How can I vote if I don’t have an email address?You can vote by post by sending a postcard to ‘Freepost THE PEOPLE’S PROJECTS’ (this must be in CAPITAL LETTERS) To be counted, the following details must be clearly written on the postcard: your name, postcode, address and telephone number, and the name of the project (or Projects) you wish to vote for. Please use a standard postcard format, with your voting details on the left-hand side and the FREEPOST address on the right-hand side. No postcode is needed for the FREEPOST address, and just leave the other side blank.

Please send your postal vote by last post Wednesday 25 April 2018 to help ensure it arrives in time. Postal votes must be received by 12pm (midday) on Monday 30 April 2018. You can vote once per person per region. For children and vulnerable adults, we advise you to put their postcards in an envelope and follow the instructions for the FREEPOST postal vote, ensuring the only address on the envelope is the FREEPOST address.

We would be delighted if you would support us and cast your votes to help our Fab Forgetful Friends and other community groups for people with dementia and carers living in Manchester.

Fabulous Forgetful Friends, our dementia policy and influencing group, recently visited the Museum of Science & Media in Bradford along with staff and volunteers from the Whitworth Art Gallery. We had great fun, learned new things and chatted with members of a local reminiscence group.

Thank you to the Whitworth for inviting us, and thank you to the National Museum of Science & Media for hosting us. Our group had a fantastic day.

Sally Ferris has written a lovely blog about the trip:

Yesterday, the Fabulous Forgetful Friends had a day trip to the Museum of Science and Media in Bradford.

As an organiser I was nearly put off by the snowy weather but my fears weren’t realised at all; we had a great day.

How can one evaluate the benefits of such events? And is anyone out there listening?? I’m not an academic researcher doing a randomised controlled study in carefully controlled (and artificial) conditions. So I will recount the myriad things that occurred during the day to enrich the lives of the participants.

A taxi was sent to pick three of the members up from home. The final man who was picked up was getting in a muddle, stressing that he couldn’t find his phone and keys. One of his ‘Forgetful Friends’ went into his home and helped him to do this. By the time they reached the coach they were laughing and joking about this “bloody dementia!”

I picked up 3 members in my car. Each of them greeted the other with such warmth. One member who struggles with her speech always greets people with a big hug and kiss – so much more welcoming than me!

On the coach are all sorts of volunteers from the Whitworth Art Gallery, young and old, artists and other retired people. For our 55 year old member, sitting at the back of the coach telling a young bloke about his music collection makes a refreshing change from the usual conversations about his difficulties. In fact, the sharing of thoughts, memories and observations at the museum, with new people, is really stimulating to the group. “This is fantastic!” said the lady with the speech difficulty.

We had lunch, with posh and unusual sandwiches – again, worthy of comment from the group.

On the journey home there were lots of conversations although the lady with the speech difficulty sat next to her friend, mostly, in contented silence. There was no pressure from either of them to initiate conversation as they were both tired by their activities.

Once back at the base we said a group thankyou to the Whitworth staff, initiated by one of our members, and heartily accompanied by the others. Members then got into their taxis and cars for lifts home. There was an enormous amount of giggling in my car between the ladies about getting their seatbelts on. Seatbelts always confuse our members but, together, they find this fact hilarious – and there’s plenty of innuendo, which they all get.

The oldest group member tells the ladies how much he’s enjoyed a day away from his wife who instructs him every half an hour to use the toilet! They all enjoy sharing the sense of freedom and adventure that he refers to, away from the concerned or critical eyes of family. The fact that my car has a flat battery and won’t start, and that I’m an incompetent mechanic, is another cause for laughter. I’m often told “You’re as bad as us!” – and that’s fine by me!

When? 6th March

Time? 7pm-9pm

Where? Chorlton Central Church, Barlow Moor Road

At our next Carer’s drop in session, some carers would like to discuss the book ‘Contented Dementia’. What do you think about it’s ideas of not asking questions or challenging the person with dementia, and going along with their reality? Is that helpful? Do you disagree with that idea? We’d love to hear your opinions. We will also have a broader discussion with general questions related to caring for someone with dementia such as “Why does he/she do that?” and “Why can’t they do that?” etc.

Interested in attending? Please come along next week, join us and share your ideas with other carers living in your area. It’s always a nice evening and a chance to have a break, new faces are always welcome!

Our Carer’s Drop In meetings take place on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Tuesday of every month. Please come along and feel free to bring your relative, or the person you care for, along with you. Our volunteers will be able to sit with them and play cards, making crafts or having a chat so that you can participate fully and make the most of the carer’s drop in. Over the coming weeks, our sessions will cover coping strategies, holistic treatments and understanding different dementia symptoms.

Where? On the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month, we meet at Chorlton Central Church in Chorlton and on the 2nd Tuesday of every month we meet at Christie Fields Pub in West Didsbury.